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Explain to Shane

Explain to Shane

Written by: AEI Podcasts
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Technology has become increasingly important to policy debates, but these debates won’t be productive without an understanding of how the technology in question works. AEI Visiting Fellow Shane Tews interviews tech industry experts to explain how the apps, services, and structures of today's information technology systems work, and how they shape our social and economic life.© American Enterprise Institute Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • GPS, the Invisible Foundation of Modern Infrastructure, Needs an Update (with Dana A. Goward and Jeff Hathaway)
    Feb 26 2026

    The GPS is essential to modern navigation, communication, and critical infrastructure. However, the United States faces serious threats to GPS technology, many of which are rarely discussed publicly. In addition to the looming threat from Russian and Chinese weaponry, increasing orbital debris and severe space weather have the potential to damage or destroy American satellites, causing a complete collapse of our navigational systems. A sustained disruption could significantly impair navigation, timing, and communications systems nationwide.

    America has more satellites than any other country, and our economy depends heavily on space-based positioning, navigation, and timing services. Former members of the National Security Council and outside advisers have called GPS “a single point of failure for America.”

    To discuss this matter, Shane is joined by two experts in GPS policy. Dana A. Goward is president of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation and a former member of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board, which advises the government on GPS policy. He took this role after retiring from service in the Coast Guard and as the United States maritime navigation authority. Also joining Shane is Coast Guard Rear Admiral Jeff Hathaway (ret.), a longtime navigator and board member of the foundation.

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    30 mins
  • The Future of Drones (with Brian Hinman and John Donovan)
    Feb 12 2026

    Innovations in drone technology have expanded their usefulness and made drones increasingly present in everyday life. Despite this progress, key limitations such as short battery life and limited payload capacity have hindered their full potential in critical infrastructure. That reality is beginning to shift. Recent breakthroughs in long-endurance flight are pushing drones beyond these limits and into entirely new possibilities. As these advances reshape what drones can do, we must ask: What new possibilities do these breakthroughs unlock? And what might these possibilities mean for our everyday lives?

    In this episode, Shane is joined by Brian Hinman, the founder and CEO of SiFly, and John Donovan, the CEO of Qudit Investments and a board member at Palo Alto Networks and Lockheed Martin. As leaders of these innovations in drone technology, they draw on their extensive experience in aviation, defense, and technology to help us explore how this next phase of drone development could change the way we think about infrastructure, emergency response, and the future of aviation itself.

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    18 mins
  • Technology and Vulnerability: How Current Cybersecurity Measures Fall Short (with Greg Oslan)
    Jan 29 2026

    With the advent of the digital age, individuals rely on countless personal devices, each one expanding their exposure to cybercrime. Missing one or two software updates may seem harmless, but this common negligence leaves us vulnerable to cyberattacks. With the number of individuals falling prey to cybercrime increasing on a yearly basis, we must ask: Why have established cybersecurity measures failed to halt or slow down the activity of cybercriminals? And what can we do to better protect ourselves and others?

    In this episode, Shane interviews Greg Oslan, chairman and CEO of the National Cybersecurity Center, on how we can do just that. Oslan has previously served as a managing partner at One Strategy Group consulting, CEO of Arturo, and a strategic adviser for the US Department of Homeland Security. His wide-ranging experience with this matter helps us make sense of how we can become safer online.

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    36 mins
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